Gone
by klynne83
Summary: this is for Fanfic Appreciate Day. One shot. Red has to leave, but leaves Lizzie with a little something


Fanfiction Appreciation Day!

~*~ TBL ~*~

"Lizzie, I'm sorry," Raymond 'Red' Reddington says to his…partner? Lover? Friend? All of the above? His green eyes sad.

"What? What are you talking about? Sorry about what?" she asks, a hysterical tone to her voice.

"Something has come up and I have to go away for a while."

"Away?" she asks, her blue eyes wide with disbelief. "No, you can't. You…what? What about…" she trails off, looking down.

"I know sweetheart. I know. And if I didn't leave, who knows what would happen. I cannot take any chances where you are concerned."

"When do you have to leave?" she asks, wrapping her arms around his neck while placing her head onto his chest. He wraps his own arms around her waist. He nuzzles his head into her neck, not wanting to give her up. Give _this_ up. Their partnership. "What do I tell Cooper?" she asks.

"Leave Cooper to me. I will take care of everything dealing with the task force. I can give Cooper a few names. I shouldn't be gone for long. I hope."

"That's not very reassuring Raymond," she remarks, leaning up slightly and give him a kiss. One of his hands trails up her back and to the back of her neck and then buries itself in her dark hair. She goes to pull away, but he holds her to him. "Mm," she moans into his mouth, wrapping her arms tighter around him, bringing their bodies together.

~*~ TBL ~*~

The next morning Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Scott, watched as Red and his right hand man/bodyguard Dembe packed their stuff. She was sitting on the couch with tears in her eyes. Red stops and looks at Lizzie, wanting nothing more than to stay, but if he did, she would surely be in danger. Well, in danger more than she already was bringing in blacklisters day after day. Once everything was in the car, there was a moment of silence before Dembe steps forward and wraps Lizzie in a big hug. He had come to think of the agent as a younger sister and friend.

"Be safe. And keep the lil one safe as well."

"With my life," she remarks, leaning up and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

He then turns to Red and before speaking, "I will waiting in the car. Take your time."

Red nods his head as Dembe walks out of the room, leaving it in silence. Lizzie at that moment breaks down, tears running down her face. Red takes a step in her direction, gathering her in his arms. She buries her face into his neck, neither caring that she was soaking his shirt with her tears. "Red," she gasps out, clutching his shirt in her hands.

"I know. I know," he says as tears come to his own eyes. "I want you to know that if you need anything, Kate is always available to you. Anything at all."

Lizzie nods against him as she leans up to capture his lips with hers. He responds enthusiastically, wanting to have this one last thing. He steps away quickly, knowing if that he stayed any longer he wouldn't leave.

"Ray?" she asks as he starts walking towards the door. He stops with his hand on the doorknob. "If I asked you, would you take me with you?" she asks.

He turns and walks across the room before gathering her in his arms once again. "I would love nothing more, but I can't do that. You have something good here Lizzie." He kneels down in front of her, pushing her shirt up, well, it was really his shirt. He places a kiss onto her abdomen. "I love you," he whispers. "I love you both so much. Be safe."

She puts her hands on to his face and tilts it up so he would look at her. "We love you. You come to back to us. You hear me?"

He nods his head against her before getting up and walking out of the door of the writer's house. Lizzie looks around before heading towards the bedroom before gathering her stuff. She pulls her pants on, before walking through the house once, making sure all the windows were closed and locked, and making sure everything was off. She wouldn't be coming back. Once outside, she locks the door behind her, pocketing the key.

~*~ TBL ~*~

It had been about six months since Red left, leaving a void in her life. His presence was definitely missed, especially around the Post Office. He had left a list of names for Cooper and they had taken their time, and wanting a new field agent since Lizzie was temporarily sidelined.

This particular afternoon, she walks in the PO, looking around worriedly. She sees her partner walking alone. Donald Ressler's head was currently reading a file, not paying much attention to the world surrounding him. She grabs his arm, jerking him back to the present day. He sees Lizzie pulling him towards where their office was located, looking less than put together.

"Liz?" he questions once they were in the safety of their office. "What's going on?"

"I'm being followed. Tom."

"Tom?" he asks. He stares at her, dread filling him at the mention of her ex-husband's name. "Are you sure it's him? And not one of Red's people?"

"I know Red's people," she remarks staring at him. "I've had the uneasy feeling the last few days. Red made sure I had a state of the art security system in our apartment. I can go onto my laptop at any time to check the cameras we have installed." She opens the laptop that she had forgotten at her desk the night before. "When I got home the other night, I felt like something was off. I pulled up the security feed and I saw this," she turns the laptop so Ressler could see the screen. Sure enough, Tom could be seen first at the front door, then at the back before he takes a step back as a dog starts barking wildly at the door.

"When did you get a dog?" he asks. Lizzie rolls her eyes

"His name is Bear. Red had him trained by the best. But the dog is not why we are having this conversation. What about Tom? I can't deal with this Ress."

"Let me and Samar deal with him. You keep an eye on your security cameras and tell me when he comes around next." She nods, hoping this would work itself out.

Tom had pulled a disappearing act, and Lizzie hadn't seen him since that week. It put her on edge, not knowing where he was. Ressler and Samar had headed to some of the places she knew where he could be holed up, but nothing ever panned out. So he must have somewhere new he was hiding. Aram Mojtabai, their computer specialist had alerts on his passport, but Tom Keen was an alias. They never even knew his real name.

~*~ TBL ~*~

It was a few months later before she saw Tom Keen again. She wakes to the noise of Bear barking up a storm, before growling. Lizzie gets up slowly, reaching for her phone and dialing a number for one of the guys Red had following her. It kept ringing, which wasn't a good sign. She then dials another number.

"Liz?" Ressler's voice came over the line, already getting out of bed and starting to get dressed.

"I think someone is here. Bear is going crazy downstairs."

"Do you have access to the security feeds?"

"No. My laptop is downstairs," she freezes as there was silence from downstairs. She turns and reaches for her gun in the bedside table drawer. "It's quiet. Bear stopped." She gasps as she looks down.

"Liz?" Ressler asks as he runs out of his place. "What's going on? Talk to me."

"My water broke," she says. She closes her bedroom door and locks it as she hears footsteps coming up the stairs. "God, Ress," she says tucking herself into the far corner of the bedroom.

"I'm almost there. Hang on," he tells her. There was a loud noise before the phone cut off. Ressler tries to dial Liz's number, but it just rang and rang. "Damn it!" he exclaims, throwing his phone onto the passenger seat.

~*~ TBL ~*~

Jacob Phelps or as people better know him as Tom Keen, let himself into the house, not knowing what to expect. All he wanted was to talk to Liz, but he was cautious. Not knowing how his coming back, would be received. He leans down trying to pet the dog, but pulls his hand back as the dog growls at him. He pulls a syringe out of his pocket, and injects the dog, watching as the dog lays down and closes his eyes. That should give him a few minutes to talk to Liz. If he remembered, she was a night owl, but the house was surprisingly dark.

He walks through the house, making sure to not bump into anything. He didn't know the layout of the house. He had tried to look in the windows, but there was no such luck. She kept the shades down all the time. He walks up the stairs, not bothering to open any of the doors. He walks to the one that had light coming from it.

He was wholly unprepared for the sight of his ex-wife clutching her extended stomach while breathing heavily. "Liz?" he asks. He holds his hands up when she stands up right, pointing her gun at him.

"What are you doing here Tom? Where's Bear?" she asks shakily.

"The dog?" he asks and watches as she nods. "He's taking a little nap. Don't worry. It's just a little something a vet friend gave me. It won't harm him. I need to talk to Reddington, and then I will be out of your hair."

"He's not here," she says, gasping as another strong contraction hit her. She raises her gun as he moves his hand towards the inside of his jacket.

"Just going for my phone," he says calmly. He pulls his phone out and throws it on the bed. "Call him."

"I can't!" she yells. "He's not here. Something happened about a year ago. He stayed for a few months before he left. He went underground. I don't know where he is. But if you tell me why you're here, maybe I can try to get in touch with him. But you need to give me some time to do so. If you can't already tell, I have other things going on."

"I need to get out of town. I tried to hide, but someone found me. I need a new identity to disappear."

"Give me some time to reach out to his people." Suddenly there was steps running up the stairs. Ressler rushes into the room and over to Liz's side, not giving Tom a single glance. "Ress," she says with a sigh. He starts to lead her out of the room, but Liz stops them. "My bag. It's in the closet." He walks past Tom and to the closet, retrieving a duffle bag. He drapes it over his shoulder as he walks back to Liz, wrapping his arm around her waist and guiding her down the stairs. "Tom?" she asks quietly.

"Samar is on her way. Called her as soon as we got disconnected. She was actually awake, and I thought I heard Aram in the background. But I can't quite be sure." A car pulls up and they watch as Samar and Aram get out. Samar nods at the two of them before walking into the house.

"Good luck Liz," Aram tells her, rubbing her back for a second.

"Thanks," she whispers before another contraction hits. She grabs onto the nearest thing she could find, which happened to be Aram's arm. He takes a step toward her, and she drops her head onto Aram's shoulder. He counts quietly, as she breathes through the pain. "Thank you." Aram gives her a smile before the door to Lizzie's house is closed and locked. They all watch as Tom stalks off down the street. "Thanks Samar."

"No problem. He will call the next time he needs something instead of breaking in. Bear was starting to come around. Would you like us to stick around? He seems kind of groggy."

"Will, you bring him out for a moment?" Samar nods before walking backing into the house. She comes back out a moment later, Bear in her arms. Bear licks his master's face, making Lizzie giggle.

"Be good. I will be back in a few days. You are going to be a big brother soon." She nuzzles her face into his fur before Ressler leads her to his SUV.

~*~ TBL ~*~

"Liz, they are perfect," Ressler comments looking at the bundle in his arms, swaddled in a pink and blue blanket, with a blue beanie on his head.

She looks down at the little bundle in her arms, adjusting the pink beanie on her daughter's head. "Yeah, I think so." She gazes at her daughter. She couldn't believe how much she could love two tiny figures so much.

"Do you have names for them?" Ressler asks, making her look up to him and her son.

"Raymond Samuel and Lacey Marie Scott."

"They are taking your last name?" he asks.

"Yeah, when we found out I was pregnant, we talked a lot about what was going to happen. And that was the first thing we decided on. We wanted to protect the baby. Obviously, it was too early to tell we would be having twins. But they will know their father. I have some pictures tucked away. Speaking of, tell me if I'm crazy, but I'm thinking of moving away from DC." Ressler stops and looks up from where he was staring at a mini Reddington. He stares at Liz for a moment, not sure how to respond. "You think it's crazy."

"I think you have hormones racing through your body. So yeah, I think you are crazy. Why don't you wait for a few months before you make that decision?"

Lizzie thinks about this for a moment before nodding her head. "You are right. I will wait."

There was a knock at the door and Ressler walks over to it. "It's Samar and Aram." Lizzie waves them in, and Ressler takes a step back allowing their two fellow agents into the room. There was a few minutes of sitting and gushing over the twins. "Lacey is a spitting image of her mother while Ray looks like his father," Ressler comments.

Aram and Samar look down at the babies they were holding. "I can see it, except of course Ray has Liz's blue eyes, while Lacey has green eyes like Red," Samar comments.

~*~ TBL ~*~

Once Lizzie was settled into her place with Ray and Lacey, she reached out to Kate to see about Tom and what she could do. Before she knew it Kate was knocking on the door to the house, Liz was a rag over her shoulder and Ray in her arms answers the door.

"Dearie," she says walking the house when Lizzie steps aside to let her in. "And who might this handsome man be?" she asks.

"Mr. Cranky," she replies with a grin. "His sister started this morning. And now, apparently, it's his turn."

"Sister?" she asks.

"Yes, twins. I didn't find out until after Red left." They walk into the living room where there was a pack n play set up. Kate peers over the side, looking down at Lacey. "That's Lacey, this is Raymond. Well, I call him Ray."

"She's the spitting image of you, while he's the spitting image of Raymond."

Lizzie looks down at her son fondly. "Is he doing okay?" she asks. "Are they doing okay?" she asks, correcting herself.

"Yes. Laying low for now. He's missing you something fierce." She watches as Lizzie lays Ray down next to his sister. "Can I?" she asks, taking her phone out.

"Of course." Lizzie watches as she takes a few pictures and sends them off, to whom Lizzie was assuming was Red.

"Now, tell me about this Tom situation. I talked to Raymond and he has the ball rolling on getting him a new identity. He doesn't want to know anything. It will delivered to Tom." Lizzie looks at Kate. "We've been following him since he broke in here. He came in through the back, correct?" Lizzie nods. "Knocked Jones over the head. He had a bruise, but he was fine." They both look up as they heard nails on the floor and watch as Bear comes running down the stairs. "He doing ok?" she asks kneeling down to pet the dog.

"Oh, he's fine. Aram and Samar took him to get checked out. He was starting to come around when I left. They said he was back to himself by the time he was brought to the vet, but they wanted to make sure everything was okay. I just wanted to say thank you. He scared the hell out of me when he first came around. And then the other night. It was just too much, so I wanted to ask you a favor."

Kate looks up from playing with Lacey. "Yes?"

"I might want to leave DC. I talked to Ressler about it and I thought that maybe he thought I was crazy. But he told me that I had all these hormones racing through my system, and that maybe I should wait. So I'm going to wait. I've been looking at places with a lot of land. I used to ride horses when I was younger. Sam was scared to death for me. Thinking the horse was going to spook and I was going to get bucked off or something, but it never happened. If and when the time comes to make it happen, I would like your full approval. Red, left me some money, and I was thinking of getting some land, building a house. Some place that Ray and Lacey could feel normal. Have a normal child hood. I'm thinking Montana. Wide open spaces."

"I think it's something Raymond would want for you," she remarks. They both lapse into silence before looking down at the twins. The silence was broken by Kate's cell phone, making Lizzie jump. Kate answers before holding out the phone.

Lizzie takes it while walking into the kitchen. "Hello?"

"Lizzie," Red breathes her name out.

"Red," she remarks, tears filling her eyes.

"Twins?" he asks.

"Yeah, I found out after you left. And I know I could have called Kate, but I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well, I was surprised all right sweetheart. Tell me all about them."

"Our son's name is Raymond Samuel. I call him Ray for short. He is the spitting image of you. He made his way into the world screaming. While our little darling girl was as quiet as a mouse. She is such a good baby. Lacey Marie. I gave them both my last name, like we talked about. She looks exactly like me. Lacey has your eyes while Ray has mine. They are perfect. I wish you could see them Red."

"I will. One day. I don't know when, but I will come back to you guys."

"Red," she starts to cry. "I love you so much. You guys be safe."

"I love you and our Ray and Lacey. Be safe sweetheart."

~*~ TBL ~*~

It had been a year since that night and Lizzie was on her last nerve. She had just gotten to the hospital again, with a gunshot to the upper arm, almost shattering her Humerus bone. They had to go in and put a pin in the bone, so it would set right. Her entire left arm was in a cast as well as a sling.

Ressler walks into her hospital room carrying Lacey, while holding onto Ray's hand. They get excited when they see their mother sitting in the bed. She was staring out the window, looking at the DC skyline.

"Liz?" he asks. She turns to face him, giving him a small smile.

"Ress," she says with a sigh.

"Is it that time?" he asks, thinking back to the conversation they had a year ago, while in this same hospital.

"I think it is," she remarks. "I would love for you to come with me. Leave the agent behind. I've bought land, and started building the house. I've seen the blueprints. Big open rooms. The kids will have their own rooms. A pool as well. I've drawn up some blue prints for you, hoping that you would come with me. The kids adore you. Come on, your Uncle Don."

He smirks before starting to laugh. He grins at her when Lacey leans over to gives him a kiss on his cheek. "Ucle Don," she wraps her arms around his neck, while Ray tries to pull himself onto the bed. Ressler walks over and helps him up.

"What do you say?" she asks. "You're my best friend."

"I say, give me some time. It's not going to happen right now."

~*~ TBL ~*~

It had been almost 3 years since that fateful day in the hospital when she finally made the decision to quit the taskforce. Cooper understood her reasoning for leaving, and so did everyone else. They knew she had more important priorities in her life. The day she turned in her badge and gun, was the day she finally felt free.

It took Ressler about a year after that, to come around. They had been chasing a suspect when he suddenly turned and fired on him and Samar. One bullet grazed the side of Samar's side, while Ressler got shot in his upper chest area. The doctors said 3 inches south, and they wouldn't have been having that conversation. After that, he decided to turn in his badge and gun and left DC with Lizzie and the twins. He had his own space on the property, having asked Lizzie if she would mind building a space for him to wood work.

Who knew under all those suits was a man's man? He had shipped most of his wood working stuff to the farm and had been building stuff ever since. Lizzie's house, along with Don's was filled with things he had made for them. The pool area was filled with beautiful Adirondack chairs, while she had a gorgeous picnic table on her deck.

It was a gorgeous summer day when Lizzie was on her horse Zuma, named after her 'older brother' and Red's right hand man when she saw the dust kicking up, signaling a car was coming. She knew the people in town, so it wasn't unheard of for someone to stop by. Mostly people came to talk to Don about something they wanted built.

"Mama?" she looks down at her green eyes daughter.

"Yes, my love?" she asks, fixing the straw cowboy hat that sat on her head. She tweaks the newsboy cap on her daughter's head, making Lacey giggle.

"Do you think daddy misses us?" she asks.

"I think your daddy misses you every day. What do I keep telling you about it?"

"That he loves us and he had to go away to keep us safe," Lacey says back. "Who do you think that is?" Lacey asks pointing to the incoming car.

"I don't know. No one I know would drive a…" she gasps. "Hold on Lace," she sets the horse to head towards the house. She knew the car would get there before them. She just hoped it was who she thought it was. She stops quickly at Don's who was just walking out of his workshop, Ray following behind. "We have company," she remarks with a bright smile.

"You think it's…?" he trails off.

"Who else would drive a Mercedes up here?" she asks. Don grins before picking up Ray and heading over to an ATV that brought them all around the farm. Lizzie takes off towards the house, noticing the dust starting to settle. She stops the horse at the house, grinning at the sight of Red. Lacey's eyes widen as she sees who was standing there. She swings her legs over to the side, dropping to the ground and running towards Red and Dembe.

"Daddy!" she screams. Red scoops her up into his arms, wrapping his arms her small frame.

"Daddy!" she hears another scream. She turns as Ray races by. She couldn't even get off of Zuma, glued in place at the sight she was witnessing. Red was finally being reunited with the twins and she couldn't take her eyes off the sight. They finally notice Dembe, and there excitement brought him to his knees. Red walks towards Lizzie.

She swings her legs over just like Lacey had done moments before, and drops to the ground. He stops short of her, before she takes a few steps and wraps her arms around him. He reciprocates, and wraps his own arms around her. She buries her face into his neck, inhaling his scent.

"Your home," she whispers.

"Finally," he says, leaning down and capturing her lips with his.


End file.
